Question reference: S5W-35437
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
- Date lodged: 26 February 2021
-
Current status: Answered by John Swinney on 15 March 2021
Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-34776 by John Swinney on 4 February 2021, in light of a recent response by it to a freedom of information request on this matter, which stated that £54,378 was spent on "external assistance" for officials, whether it will provide a breakdown of this expenditure; how many members of its staff received this assistance, broken down by grade, and which company provided it.
Answer
In relation to the request for a breakdown of expenditure, the sum £54,378 was spent in its entirety for obtaining individual legal advice for civil servants in accordance with the provisions of the Civil Service Management Code published by the Cabinet Office.
Four members of staff received the individual legal advice. The breakdown of the expenditure by grade is SCS - Permanent Secretary; SCS – Director x2; SCS – Deputy Director.
The name of the legal firm that provided the legal advice cannot be revealed in order to maintain the right to confidentiality of communications between legal advisers and clients.